5:10 am waking again

[rena]

hi, I'm new here! Having major early waking problems with my one year old and noticed what some said in a thread in April about moving morning sleep later. Wondering how to do that without afternoon nap getting later and later too? He was waking at 6:30 for ages then suddenly 5:15 - 5:30 for last two weeks or so. Been trying to push sleep till later for two days. Yesterday took him back to bed with me for extra 45 mins then he slept from 12:30 ish to 1:15 ish in afternoon, but he woke this morning at 4:30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP!!! He is really tired by the time I get him to bed at 7:30. I think I have just made things worse. Maybe it will take me a week to get him back to waking at 5:30? What do you think?

Our black out blinds do have light coming in at the sides. Read thread about blackout blinds and think I must try the card in the window technique, but I love having daylight in his room in the daytime.

Almost paid the £40 to join gina fords web help!! But can't afford it. Getting desperate as gone back to work 3 days.
Cheers
Rena
xx

To Rena I am also new to mums net and have 8 children from ages 2 to 16 so have been though whot you are saying meny times. I always found that if one of mine was wakeing early in the morning and would't settle back in there own bed I would put them in with me and found that thay would love the warmth and fall back to sleep. I know that this may not be text book but if you got a extra hours sleep before work you would feel a lot better and a extra cuddle for babe wont hurt

Hi Rena

I have posted on this earlier today (v long) about something I am trying to get dd to sleep later, she is 13months.

The bringing her in with me worked for a while but now she just crawls all over me and hits me in the face!

I will try and find my post and copy it here!

HI RENA

In responce to the message you got from Weesaidie. I agree with her. and forgot to mention that you may get the odd smack in the face. so my advise to you ignore. my previous message things that may have worked for me wont nessary work for you i would keep plugging for more advise sorry i couldn't help you more but good luck and eres to meny lay ins.

Hi again.. found my other post! Enjoy...

Okay. I had a similar problem for ages (my dd 13 months too) and I changed naptimes, shortened, lengthened them and didn't work, for me anyway. Ditto, black out blind.

Then my mum told me what to do, finally! Hello woman I have been moaning about this for ages! She used to be a h/v. I have only just started so may not last but so far so good.

Basically when dd wakes up (inbetween 5.30 and 6.30) I give her a drink of milk (while she is still in her cot) and then just leave her. This means for me going into the livingroom and trying to nap on sofa as we share a room!

First night. Up at 5.30am, gave milk, left her, she seemed wide awake but after a little whinging she slept til 8.20.

Second night. Up at 6.15, gave milk, left her, seemed v awake again but again after a little whinging she dropped off til about 8am.

Third night. Up at 4.30 (good god!), this time seemed too early for milk so gave her dummy (terrible I know but only use occasionally now and she generally sleeps without one!) and she then slept til 7.45am!

Don't know how it went last night as she was at her dads but he has been under strict instructions to carry on this new thing!

I have my fingers crossed that eventually she will sleep til 7.30ish without the milk/dummy but even now I am getting at least a couple of hours extra without too much hassle so I am happy!

Sorry that was so long but I thought it might help.

HI WEESAIDIE

WHOT A BRILL IDEA GOING TO TRY THIS ON MY LITTLE ONE MAYBE I COULD HAVE A LIE IN WITH OUT MY TOD

HOPE YOU DONT MIND ME BUTTING IN

CHEERS
MARMAR
XX

No worries Marmar!

I am so surprised it has been working but I am keeping my fingers crossed it lasts! I just hate getting up earlier than 7am, I am willing to try anything!

Good luck to you too!

Try putting him to bed earlier. Goes against reason, but often an early bed time means later waking. Don't ask me how it works - some sort of scientific reasoning apparently.

TO JAMBOT

I HAVE HEARD THIS BEFORE BUT NEVER MANAGED TO GET MINE TO SLEEP BEFORE 7.30 YOU DONT KNOW OF ANY SCIENTIFIC WAY TO GET THEM TO SLEEP DO YA

Hi, dd was waking ealier and earlier and when it got to 5.45 (not that horrific I know but still pretty early!) i invested in some dense black sheets of A1/A2 paper which i bluetack up on the windows each night, ensuring the frames are parthy covered so no light gets in round the edge. It's soooo dark in there now! I take the sheets down during the day.

I don't want to tempt fate, but dd seems to have woken 20-30 minutes later each morning since starting with them... 6.15 on the first morning, 6.35 the next and this morning 6.50!!!

Goodluck, hope you find a solution.

By the way, we too have blackout blinds but light comes in round the edge so they don;t always work.

I tried the milk method too but didn't work for my DD. Oh dear, I think she just must be an early morning girl. Trouble is I am not! Now I even leave her milk by the bed in case she just helps herself and drops off again. She sometimes takes it but still just stands up and calls out for me! Managing to keep her up til nap at midday but still wakes at same time. Have however atarted putting her to bed at 6.30 instead pof 7 just to get a bit of extra time in the evening that don't get in morning!
Hope things work better for others as I know the miserly of it all

I do worry that my dd is also just an early riser, I have have always been good at getting up but not before 7am! I used to be a postie (holidays while at Uni) and get up at 4am (eek) but I didn't have a baby then so I could go straight back to bed when I finished!

My dd has been at her dads the last two nights and he seems to have found my new 'method' tough so god knows what she will be like tonight!

I am going to keep trying though as she seems to be getting into it at the moment!

Unfortunately nothing seems to work for everyone, I read Christopher Green's Toddler Taming and he basically said some babies (quite a lot as far as I can see!) are just early riser - get used to it! Ha ha, thanks Chris, I have a feeling none of his kids got up at 5.30am!

No Marmar, wish there was some magic scientific breakthrough that gave us all the answers to sleep problems. This early to bed later to rise theory came from Dr Weisbluth's book - Healthy sleep habits, Happy child. He gives quite a few case studies where early rising was one of the major problems.
Hope I got the guys name right. I've got his book at home and found it interesting reading but be prepared for a no-nonsense approach to solving sleep problems - including quite a bit of crying.

HI JAMBOT

THANKS WILL TRY AND FIND THE BOOK AT WATERSTONES 2MOZ WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW I GO ON